Lithium–metal batteries (LMBs)
are the focus of upcoming
energy storage systems with extremely high-energy density. However,
the leakage of liquid electrolyte and the uncontrollable dendritic
Li growth on the surface of the Li anode lead to their low reversibility
and safety risks. Herein, we propose a stable quasi-solid LMB with
in situ gelation of liquid electrolyte and an in-built fluorinated
solid electrolyte interface (SEI) on the Li anode. The gel polymer
electrolyte (GPE) is readily constructed via cationic polymerization
between lithium hexafluorophosphate and ether electrolyte. The fluorine-containing
additive, fluoroethylene carbonate (FEC), plays a crucial role in
the building of a dense SEI with fast interfacial charge transport.
The ex situ spectroscopic characterizations suggest that the enhanced
LiF species in the SEI with the addition of FEC and the in situ optical
microscopy reveal the inhibited dendritic Li growth. Moreover, GPE@FEC
exhibits a high oxidative stability beyond 5.0 V (vs Li/Li+). The significantly improved Li plating/stripping efficiency (400
cycles, 98.7%) is presented for the Li∥Cu cells equipped with
GPE@FEC. Decent cycling stability is also available for the cells
with the LiFePO4 cathode, reflecting the feasibility of
GPE@FEC for practical LMBs with enhanced stability and safety.
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